Field Dressing, Scent Glands, Heart and Liver

[Pork Chop]

As the smoke slowly clears and you see the big buck lying lifeless on the ground, you start the task of field dressing. Do you have any special hints or tips?

Do you remove the scent glands?

Do you bag and save the heart and liver (or any other organs) for eating at a later time?

Thanks!

 

[3 stinky dogs]

Alot of guy's I know do eat the heart and liver.I dont thwo but mine never go's to waist.My dad always kept the glands so I do to.We froze them and the next season we would put them in an old stocking and drag it threw the woods on the way to our stand.When we got there we would hange it from the tree.He would use his glands for about 3 years.

 

[Hoyt]

I don't eat or save the heart and liver..have cut off the scent glands and used them but never had any luck with attracting a deer. If it was during prime rut time and I had a good buck pretty much pegged to an area I would give the gland a try.

 

[jtmattison]

Heart and liver are good eats!
I never bother with the glands.

Huntin

 

[Black Hand]

Sir,
I have stopped messing with the glands as it is a great way to get the scent on the rest of the deer. I just field-dress as usual. I do save the heart and liver. I also collect the fat inside the cavity and render it down for tallow.
Black Hand

 

[keethb]

Pork Chop,

I eat the heart but not the liver. As to the scent/musk glands. I carry a small knife specifically for removing the scent glands so that I don't accidently contaminate the meat with the glands. My first task before field dressing the deer is to cut away the scent glands, stow the "scent gland" knife, and then throughly clean my hands before field dressing the deer. My Dad, who was a professional archer, guide, and outdoors magazine author, taught this to me 37 years ago and it has served me well ever since. As to other hints, be very careful with the bladder and rectum so that you do not contaminate the meat. There are a number of good websites and books that cover field dressing a deer;[url] Deerhunting.com[/url] has a good primer at www.whitetaildeer.com/howto/fd/ . Good luck with deer hunting this year.

Best Regards,

Sky-Dogg :front:

 

[Tahquamenon]

First thing is:
Make sure (with a loaded rifle handy) that the beast is in fact dead, not just waiting to kick the daylights out of you. :shocking:

The heart I always save unless shot to pieces (happens a fair amount of the time).

The liver I also always save. I love to make a spread or with liver and onions.

Otherwise I quickly but carefully open the organ cavity, remove the heart and liver and Ziploc bag, and then trim the entrails away from the rib cage minding the inside loin straps and then the bladder (carefully) and the glands in one "clump". I try to leave enough of the larynx in so I have something to grab ahold of later. I take a zip/wire bone saw, push it under the pelvic bone and saw through the bone and then easily spread the bone apart and everything slides right outside the carcass in one big pile. Then trim off the glands with the gut pile.
Neat and complete.

I never have saved the glands.

Then, I also carefully remove the larynx, but so not to mess up the neck roast on a buck or a large doe. I do Chicago neck tie cut under the jaw at the throat and sever the larynx and then reach up inside the cavity and pull it out of the neck. Takes a bit of effort, but then you don't have to expose the neck meat in the field. You don't want the larynx left in the deer. If I can't get it out in the field, then I'll remove it when I hang and skin the deer.

Then turn the carcass over on it's belly to drain while I clean up a bit.

Then get that critter hanging from the back legs with a gambrel and skin as soon as possible if butchering yourself (highly recommended). Skins much easer when the carcass is still warm and not stiff. Also, by skinning quickly the carcass cools much faster - better for the meat. Let hang at least a couple days or longer if not too warm. I have a commercial freezing unit that I operate in my garage during deer seasons if it

 

[3 stinky dogs]

I would starte around the rectum(darn near killed em) cut around tie it off with twine and cut up to and threw the sturnem And right along and removing the wind pipe.If I do my job right I can get it all out in one neat unit.

 

[Ironwood]

Since a buck urinates all over his hind legs when working a scrape I try not to touch the hind legs, from the hams down, at all. I field dress my deer from jaw to bh. I don't save the heart or the liver. I may try keeping the liver this year. I haven't had any liver and onions in years.

Sometimes down here the temp will reach 80 degrees during the early part of November. So after field dressing it's quarter and ice down or hurry to a cold storage processor.

 

[elcazador]

I 've always save the heart but not the liver. Field dress the deer ASAP and skin it ASAP is the best method for me. The quicker you get the meat cool the better.

 

[GregK]

I would start around the rectum(darn near killed em) cut around tie it off with twine and cut up to and threw the sternum And right along and removing the wind pipe.If I do my job right I can get it all out in one neat unit.

Me too.
But I have to admit that last year I shot a doe and, I don't shoot too many does, and when I started the process of cutting around the rectum.....it wasn't the rectum I was cutting around. :redface:

 

[3 stinky dogs]

EEEuuuuwww! Thats ok as long as you dont lance the bladder like I did my first deer.I was licky to have a good teacher thow and water on hand.The Doe tasted good .was nice and tender.I have no problem with spikes and doe's where leagle.

 

[scott fellows]

while the person who shot the deer is gutting it, his/her hunting partner should be kindling a fire with flint and steel. cut a couple green sticks and as soon as the heart and liver are removed wash them off with water from your canteen if you'd like, slice them up and put them on a stick to roast. best tasting meat you'll ever have. just ask no deer.
pieman

 

[Maestro]

just ask no deer.

I didn't think the deer would agree! :crackup:

 

I save liver but not heart and don't mess with the glands. However, I do remove and wash the lower colon - makes a dandy large sausage casing for bologna or salami. A friend of mine saves the small intestine for menudo but I don't mess with it.

 

[bob1961]

pretty much after opening the belly to sternum i reach in and cut the diaphram from sternum to spine along the ribs....then reach fer the wind pipe as far up as i can with my small knife with bout a 2" blade i cut the wind pipe and pull it out to the hips to one side of the deer to the down hill side to drain the body cavity....then with tension on the entrails it rolls out the bladder....cut around the rectom and it pulls out with the rest of the pile....then as soon i git the deer home it's gets hung by the rear legs and skinned and cut up in the frig in bout an hour in chunks to work on the next day....i think this year i'll try the heart..........bob

 

[rabbit03]

Personally never cared for the organs. But they do look good and often wished I did like them.

The scent glands are another thing I have never really worried about taking off. My thoughts are the deer is dead and there is no longer any circulation going on there, hence no contamination of the meat. Unless someone is concerned about getting the the scent or urine on the meat but I have never bothered with it. And I have dropped the meat on the ground and did just about everything you could do to a piece of meat and I am still here with no ill effects.

 

[bigbore442001]

Well, here is what I do when I shoot a deer. I will gut it in the field and put the heart and liver in a bag. I don't eat it myself but I do give it away to a nice lady at work.

When I hang the deer up to be skinned and butchered I'll wash the body cavity down with a water hose and then wipe it dry with paper towels. After skinning, the meat is then quartered and butchered into the various cuts.

I will take the meat and put it in the sink with water, salt and a splash of vineagar before packing in a vacuum sealer.

I have yet to have anyone complain about my meat.

 

[No Deer]

while the person who shot the deer is gutting it, his/her hunting partner should be kindling a fire with flint and steel. cut a couple green sticks and as soon as the heart and liver are removed wash them off with water from your canteen if you'd like, slice them up and put them on a stick to roast. best tasting meat you'll ever have. just ask no deer.
pieman

That was one incredible day. We were all dressed in primitive attire which really set the tone of the day. As I was guttin out the doe Pieman built up a fire. We sliced up the heart and roasted it over the fire. When that was gone we sliced some off the haunch and roasted that. I hope it was the first of many such days. But I'm afraid that ff:

 

[oomcurt]

That is something I have always wondered about myself..the scent glands. Considering they are located way below the knee joint and the gambrel is hooked at the knee joint..kinda makes one wonder why bother with them indeed. I suppose if one really wanted to be sure on no contamination one could simply saw off the leg below the knee joint before any skinning or butchering is done.